Species, Milady?
by ro-iro38
Summary: An encounter in the North Gardens gets Rin to thinking...


Disclaimer: All characters are properties of Rumiko Takahashi and Co. Except the stupid guy….

* * *

A nice breeze blew through the north gardens and Rin smiled, welcoming it. It rippled her luxurious blue and silver kimono, and even tossed her hair into its play, blowing it every which way. Giggling, Rin attempted to pull her hair back down once again; she usually didn't wear it down, but today the wind had inspired her to do just that. Strolling through the North gardens was one of Rin's favorite things to do. It had been a present to her from Sesshoumaru when they'd first mated—it had been filled with all her favorite varieties, as well as some that she was unfamiliar with, but grew to love anyway. The other gardens (there were five in total stretching over the massive amount of land on which Rin made her home) all tapered off, and were closed to prevent passage, but the North Garden did not.

Rin had been surprised that Sesshoumaru had let it open like that; his protective and possessive nature must have let up at that time during its construction. Instead, the garden continued all the way up to a small lake that was always the clearest of blue. It was Rin's favorite thing to walk to the edge and let her feet sit there for a while, sitting and thinking. Provided, usually she was with her lord, mainly because the garden wasn't closed and he wanted to make sure that she was not harmed during her strolls. However, there were some days when he could not accompany her and he would make her take a dagger he'd given her some years ago.

She enjoyed these times without him, though. No, he was not suffocating, simply ever watchful and omnipresent. It unnerved her how he could know everything sometimes. "Milady!" A startled cry interrupted her train of thought and her head shot up to regard a strange man.

Instinctively, she took a step back and her hand flew inside of the sleeve of her kimono where she kept her dagger hidden. Her chocolate eyes narrowed in speculation. _'What is the man that approaches me? If he were demon, he would smell Sesshoumaru all over me and leave.'_

"What are you doing out here all alone, wandering like this?! Don't you know that you are on the personal grounds of a powerful, vicious demon lord?"

Rin smirked lightly, but knew that the distance was too great for him to see it. _'So he's a human from one of the nearby villages. Is _that_ what they say about Sesshoumaru?' _This thought seemed to amuse Rin for she began to giggle.

The man's brow lowered. "Are you well, woman? I _said_ that you are currently trespassing on the lands of Lord Sesshoumaru!"

Rin considered asking him why he was trespassing himself, but then noticed that he was on the other side of the lake and therefore not on the castle grounds. "I know exactly where I am." She called proudly. _'I am standing in the garden that my lord _husband_ built for me.'_

The man scratched his head before shaking it. "You crazy woman! You'll be killed if he or any of his servants find you here!"

Rin rolled her eyes skyward. Such a stupid human. "I will not be killed, you _oaf_." She added the last part under her breath. Most of the villages nearby were aware that Lord Sesshoumaru had taken a human mate; hell, after traveling with him for so long, most of them knew what she looked like. This man must not be from these parts.

The man threw his hands up. This stubborn woman was going to mess around and get herself _slaughtered._ "Stay right there, woman! I'll come get you!"

Rin laughed slightly as he struggled to wade across the lake; it was wide, but not very deep. Deciding that she'd had enough of this man's entertaining idiocy, she held her hand out. "Stop! You are trespassing on my lord's lands!"

"As are you!" he yelled. He was about halfway through the lake, and steadily making his way towards her.

Rin growled (it would have impressed Sesshoumaru). "Cease your movements!" she called firmly, but the man paid her no heed. "Idiot!" she berated loudly. _'If this man tries to forcefully take me, I'll have to kick his but!'_ This was nothing to take lightly, as Rin had been trained by Sesshoumaru himself since the age of thirteen.

"Woman, I'm doing you a service!" he cried as he emerged from the pond. "Now take my hand and we'll go the long way around."

"Enough!" she cried. "I am the Lady of these lands and if you put one hand on me, I will kill you!"

At this, the man suddenly stopped and looked at her as if she'd sprouted another head. "You're no demon! You are crazy, woman! I will bring you to the nearest village and have the most skilled priestess heal the ails of your mind!"

Rin stared incredulously. This man was either _extremely _stupid or a foreigner. Even still, it was known far and wide that Lord Sesshoumaru had taken a human woman as his mate some time ago. When the man reached a hand toward her, Rin whipped out her dagger and pointed it at him threateningly. "If you touch me you will regret it."

Then he did it; the man's hand fell heavily on her wrist. "Woman, why don't you just—" That was the furthest he'd gotten before Rin thrust forward and sliced up his arm to his shoulder. "You crazy bitch!" he screamed as she stepped back; she did not want his blood to mar one of her favorite kimonos.

"I told you not to touch me." She muttered darkly.

"Stop being so damn difficult and come with me!" he yelled and started forward again. Rin moved fast and the next thing he knew, she was behind him with the point of her dagger pressed into the back of neck. "Please! Don't!" he sputtered, realizing that this woman was serious.

"Go back to where you came from and do not return. Else." She leaned forward putting more pressure on the dagger. "I will have my _husband_ deal with you." She murmured, feral.

"Of course Milady! Forgive my impudence! A thousand pardons!" he blubbered stupidly and stumbled back towards the water.

Satisfied that the man would leave her alone, she bent down and wiped the blade of the dagger in the grass repeatedly, cleaning off the blood. However, she did not put it back in her sleeve, but instead turned to head to the castle.

* * *

Sesshoumaru regarded Rin as she entered his study and closed the door behind her, dagger drawn. She smiled brightly at him and set the dagger down on his desk. One perfectly sculpted brow rose and he looked at her expectantly. Suddenly, the stench of a human male's blood hit his nose; she'd done a good job of cleaning it, but he was still able to detect a bit of evidence of his presence. "What have you been doing today, Rin?"

"Oh, I was just walking in the North Gardens." She replied nonchalantly.

"And….?" He asked after a moment.

"A man thought that I was a delusional trespasser and tried to 'rescue' me from the wrath of you and your servants." She giggled slightly at the memory.

"Oh?" Sesshoumaru did not see any humor in the matter.

"I only messed up his arm a bit. He'll get it bandaged in the nearest village." She smiled up at him angelically and he released an almost imperceptible sigh.

"Next time you venture into the North Gardens, do not fail to alert me." He said sternly. She knew what that meant. _Next time you go into the North Gardens, I'm coming with you._

"Oh, but Sesshoumaru-sama, you were busy! I didn't feel the need to disturb you with something so trivial. And anyway, I was able to stop the human oaf from doing any harm. The most he did was annoy me by renouncing me a lunatic."

Sesshoumaru stared at her blankly as if wasn't even paying attention to her words. "Rin." He said sternly, leaving no room for argument.

Rin's eyes lost their mirthful edge and she nodded shortly. Sesshoumaru wondered at her sudden change in mood; certainly his mild reprimanding wasn't the cause of it. "What bothers you, My Lady?"

She at once considered lying to him and then decided against it; she did it so seldom that the change in her scent was easy for him to pick up. "I…well…I uh…"

"Rin." He snapped, his voice laced with a bit of annoyance. He motioned her to come to the other side of the desk and he promptly pulled her into his lap when she came. Wrapping his arms about her small waist, he tucked her form against his and pressed his nose into the top of her head. "When something is bothering my mate, I need to know what it is so that I may fix it, if such a thing is possible."

Taking a deep breath, Rin nodded. "Well, it is simply that while coming back from my encounter with that human, I suddenly thought of something he'd said. I told him that I was the Lady of the castle and he told me that I am no demon."

"This bothered you?" Sesshoumaru questioned her.

Rin shook her head slowly. "No. It bothers me that I am human. I am not demon, so therefore I must be human."

Sesshoumaru sighed, something he did quite rarely. "You are not mortal, Rin."

"I know." She retorted with a hint of irritation peaking through her otherwise indifferent tone.

"Then _what_ is bothering you?"

Rin groaned and scooted back on his lap so that she could look into his face point blank. "I must be lumped in the group of those _idiots_." Sesshoumaru was taken aback by her harsh tone. It was cold. "They are completely unreasonable creatures and they don't use their brains before they do things. They're weak and easily led astray from their beliefs by idolatry and greed. They turn against each other swiftly based on usually baseless reasons. Sesshoumaru, I would that I wasn't a part of such an…_inferior_ race."

Sesshoumaru was speechless for about the third time in his entire life. It was shocking to hear his sweet, innocent Rin speak so lowly of her own species, but then again, she'd been around demons her entire life and this is what she'd heard directed both towards her and others. Even the humans she'd ever been around had mistreated her to some degree; it was not surprising that Rin would have such a negative perception of humans. "It is an inferior race," Sesshoumaru finally sighed. "However, you must not include yourself in it."

"And why not?" she asked in a shrewd tone of voice.

"Would this Sesshoumaru choose to spend his time with such an inferior creature? Would this Sesshoumaru have brought you back from the Underworld? Would this Sesshoumaru have taken care of you all this time? Would I have _mated_ and _fallen in love_ with such a creature?" He emphasized the last part by lightly kissing his mating mark on her neck.

Rin shuddered and shook her head. "Of course not."

"Then cease this line of thought. You are Rin and that is all you need to know."

Rin briefly considered arguing the point, more but then realized the truth in her lord's words. He'd never—not once—shunned her for her…what did Kagome call it? Biology? It should be of no concern to Rin if her lord did not consider her race. "As usual, you have enlightened me, my lord." She said teasingly.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed and he leaned down, whispering into her ear. "This Sesshoumaru is not sure that you're aware of the many priveleges you are afforded as Rin."

Pulling back, Rin smiled teasingly. "Oh, I am."

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I couldn't really formulate an ending, but I hope you enjoyed this……whatever it is. 


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